Footsteps to Zion

Did you know that our God loves gardens?  In fact, the Bible says that He planted the Garden of Eden Himself (Gen. 2:8-9). He didn’t just create them in an instant as a fully-grown garden. Instead, He planted the trees there and made them grow out of the ground. But more importantly, do you know what is the most precious garden to the Lord out of all the gardens in the world? It is not a physical garden but a spiritual one – it is the garden in our hearts. In a sense, when we become Christians, God plants a garden in our own hearts. It is this garden in our hearts that He carefully tends, protects, and inspects. And as any good gardener, God looks at the garden of our hearts looking for certain characteristics that are well-pleasing in His sight. What then are these characteristics that we should cultivate in the garden of our hearts? 1. It should be enclosed. Song of Songs 4:12 A garden enclosed Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed. Satan ...

Many of us, if not all, are familiar with the verse “what you sow, you shall reap.” For sure a farmer understands this very well. If he wants to harvest apples, he plants apple seeds and not mango seeds. If he sows wheat, he shall also reap wheat. Simple as that. But what does this verse from Galatians 6:7 actually mean to us? As we take a closer look at the principles of sowing and reaping, we will understand what it means and how we can apply it in our everyday lives. I. What you sow you will reap. As this verse is true in agriculture, so it is in the life choices we make. Every kind of seed will produce fruit like itself. And so it is with regard to our works. If we sow love and kindness towards other people, we will also be treated the same. If we sow hatred and bitterness, the same treatment will also be shown to us. Luke 6:45 tells us that a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings f...

Joseph of the Bible is probably most famously known today as “Joseph the Dreamer.” But more than being just a dreamer, Joseph was also described as a “fruitful bough (branch)” by his father, Jacob. “Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.” Genesis 49:22 But what does it mean to be fruitful? A person is said to be fruitful if he bears the fruits of the Holy Spirit such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). A person is also said to be fruitful if he bears good fruits or brings excellent results in his workplace, community, family, or ministry. Joseph was described as a “fruitful bough” because he was so fruitful both in character and in his calling as a leader in Egypt. 1. Joseph was fruitful in character We can read in Genesis 39:1-6 that when Joseph had been taken down to Egypt as a slave, Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, bought him and made...

Based on the message of Rev. Norman Holmes Each person has his own identity and personality. And the more that we understand the ways of a person, the more we know how that person will think and act in different situations. The same goes with our God and our relationship with Him. He has His own ways of thinking and acting. David prayed to the Lord in Psalm 25:4 to show him God's ways and teach him God's paths. He wanted to know God’s very heart. If we become like King David who knew God's heart , we will begin to understand His ways more.  Not only will we know what He does but we will also understand WHY He does certain things . We will then know how we can be co-laborers with Him. It is written that God made known His ways to Moses and His acts to the children of Israel (Psalm 103:7). Moses knew the heart and mind of God. He knew how God would react in different situations and why. He knew how he could work in harmony with God to lead the Israelites out o...

God once told a Christian, “I designed your life that you would bear fruit for Me... I come to My fruit trees looking for fruit. But the fruit that you were beginning to bear was out of reach and it wasn’t the kind of fruit that I was looking for” (Eskelund). When this Christian heard this gentle rebuke from God, he knew God spoke to him not out of anger, but out of love. God loved him so much that He didn’t want this Christian to stay fruitless forever and miss out on all that God had in store for him. This raises the question then: if God would look at our lives today, will He see any fruit? Some people might realize that they have no fruit yet - no souls won for God, no fruits of the Holy Spirit developed. While others may admit to having just some fruit, and already be satisfied with it. But God is not looking for just “some fruit” - He is looking for “ much fruit.” John 15:8 says that God is glorified when we bear “much fruit.” How then do we bear much fruit fo...

Source: www.LumoProject.com "Do business till I come." This is the word of instruction of the nobleman to his servants in the parable of the minas which Jesus spoke of in Luke 19:11-27. The same command is true to us today as He has entrusted each one of us with “minas” of which God will ask us to give an account. Just the thought that Jesus used the word "business" tells us that the ministry God gives to us is "work." And just like a businessman, God expects returns on His investment. In the same way that the nobleman returned to settle accounts with his servants, Jesus will come back again and judgment will begin in His own household – the Church (1 Peter 4:17). In this parable, the citizens hated the nobleman and that tells about the Jews’ rejection of Jesus. The servants are those who believe in the Lord. Ten minas were given to ten servants; therefore, each of the servants received one mina. Source: Sweet Publishing/FreeBibleimages.org Th...